Hi my friends,
After a tumultuous couple of weeks when I had to say goodbye to my 16 year old cat, Sophie, and then two weeks later decided to adopt 10 week old Pippi, I am back to knitting. This time it’s a sweater for my granddaughter, Abby. It’s a fun project using yarn my niece very thoughtfully gifted me - Manos del Uruguay, Cotton Stria on size 7 circular needles (but knitted flat). My question to you all is: do you have tips on how to keep a 10 week old kitten from biting your yarn and basically trying to trash your knitting? Any suggestions (other than un-adopting her) would be welcome
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I’m sorry to hear about Sophie. I can imagine how difficult that is.
I only know to play with the kitten and give her interesting toys to keep her busy and intrigued. Keep your knitting in project bags and on high shelves or closets when you’re not around. Eventually she’ll learn although it’s not going to happen overnight.
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I was going to say very much the same as salmonmac.
It’s sad to hear about your Sophie, I’m sure Pippi is very pleased to get a good home and will be a lovely companion.
Cats can learn if you are (very) consistent with the instruction. I would keep your yarn in a bag when actually knitting and tell her no or make a negative noise if she approaches the bag or the knitting and redirect to her own toy (or her own knitted blanket if she’s trying to sit on the knit fabric). Name the toy and she can learn what she’s allowed and not allowed.
I do not have a cat, not for a long time now, but my cat knew the names of many toys and would fetch the correct one when asked to (he played fetch, I’d throw, he’d bring back). Often people don’t train cats but they can be taught where they can and can’t climb indoors, where they can and can’t sit, what they can and can’t play with.
Kittens a sooooo cute!
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So sorry about Sophie, it’s so hard to lose a cherished fur baby. Like others have said, get some toys for your new baby but I’m afraid, you’ll just have to ride it out, kittens will be kittens, lol! Lucky they’re so adorable!
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I am sorry to hear of your loss. It is never easy to part with a pet especially when they have spent so long with us. I guess everyone is giving the same advice. Give her lots of toys and love. Be consistent.
We lost our last cat to cancer about 8 years ago. He was a beautiful black cat with some white on his chest that most people never saw. We are just now thinking about getting a kitten.
When our black cat (Spooky) was a kitten, he used to want to sleep all day and be very active at night. I would get up with him and soak a facecloth in warm water and gently pet him while praising him and telling him what a good boy he was. It was our bonding time. He would purr away while I got him pretty wet. During the rest of the night we would sleep very peacefully while he licked himself dry and then needed a nap. He grew up to love water and had no fear of the bathtub.
No fear of the tub could also be because I would put the plug in the tub and give him a small ball to play with. It would go around the tub like a car on a racetrack with him chasing it. He was always able to eventually catch it before swatting it and starting the race all over again. While he was little, he never had to go looking for it under furniture because it stayed in the tub until he got much bigger. I hope your new kitten brings as much enjoyment into your life as ours did. We are really looking forward to a new fur baby.
I hope this has been helpful.
Vicki